The 15 Best Marketing Quotes Ever Spoken

In today’s post, I’d like to share the best marketing quotes ever spoken. Keep in mind this is just my opinion and we can agree to disagree.

I try to be an observant person and having a passion for marketing and entrepreneurship, I find myself studying various attempts and strategies for business/product marketing.

I seem to think back to before some reading this were born when rating the marketing I see on television, billboards, online and in other venues. Yep, I travel back to 1966 and they are either rated:

Clint Eastwood

Eli Wallach

or Lee Van Cleef

So now many of you are really confused… Let me just tell you that these are the top three actors in a great Western movie called The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

I will just say that when it comes to marketing, there is a lot of bad and even more ugly. But, I will say that sometimes ugly works if used in the proper scenario. But bad is bad and there is no getting around it.

Top 15 Best Marketing Quotes

In today’s post, we are going to have a little fun. I’ve scoured the internet putting together my top 15 best marketing quotes list. I hope these tips and strategies help you stay in the Clint Eastwood zone, out of the Eli Wallach zone and know when and where to be like Lee Van Cleef.

Deming was a great statistician and this quote is not JUST for marketers, but I felt it fits. Sometimes we can get so caught up with measurements, we neglect the other important aspects of the business. You can measure every single thing, but if your neglecting your customer service, your marketing will be worth zilch. Yes, you do need to measure, but choose just a few measurements and keep up with other responsibilities.

# 2: “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” ~ Zig Ziglar

Every time you are marketing, you need to have a specific goal. In other words, what are you trying to accomplish? You should know your target market and identify what you want them to do.

# 3: “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” ~ Seth Godin

Seth is a marketing guru and he hits the nail on the head here. Consumers have smartened up. There is TONS of competition in the marketplace. Your product and story need to provide an experience to the end user, something people naturally want to talk about.

If you are not familiar with Tom, you should be. He is the Marketoonist. He puts together fantastic cartoons that market to consumers. And he is right, if you look at your marketing ploy and it feels like marketing to you, maybe you don’t have it right. Find ways to be different from your competitors, not just in the products you offer, but how you do it!

# 5: “Do you have a product or service that people want? If you don’t have that, nothing else matters.” ~ Noah Kagan

Give the people what they want to buy. This is vitally important. People rarely buy what they need, but they love to buy what they want.

# 6: “Content marketing is really like a first date. If all you do is talk about yourself, there won’t be a second date.” ~ David Beebe

Your marketing should be geared for your potential customer. What’s in it for them? What are the benefits of what you are offering them? They could care less about you or your company. If anything, they want to know how they will benefit from what you are trying to sell them!

# 7: “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.” ~ Peter F. Drucker

We preach the “know your customer” all the time. There are plenty of tools to do just that. When you know customers as well as you know your way to the refrigerator in the dark, you will create products and services that they will, most definitely, want.

Great point Joe! If you can give the prospect the impression they are wise because they are viewing your marketing content and even wiser when they buy and use your product or service, you will have a winner.

It is called the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Don’t be insane with your marketing! Experiment with different things. Test the results. Keep what works and ditch what doesn’t work.

# 11: “Marketing takes a day to learn and a lifetime to master.” ~ Phil Kolter

Anyone can do marketing, but very few can do it with greatness. Plus, marketing evolves minute by minute, day by day and year.

When I hear a marketing freelancer get upset over material a competitor used that was very similar to the marketing material they wrote, I like to use this quote. Don’t be angry, be ecstatic… It means you are better than the rest!

# 13: “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” ~ David Packard

Marketing is the lifeblood of a business’ revenues and profits; every department… every person in the company needs to be in marketing synchronization. Even the t-shirt and hat the janitor is wearing can be marketing. Get the whole tribe involved and your marketing goals will surely be a success.

# 14: “Firms need to ensure that their ability to provide effective customer service keeps pace with their growth. If you’re marketing your firm to new customers, you better be able to provide them service when they do business with you.” ~ Arthur Levitt

I said it before and I’ll say it again, without an excellent customer service system, you marketing is dead.

# 15: “Behind every piece of bad content is an executive who asked for it.” ~ Michael Brenner

Marketing is not a micro-managerial item executives should attempt. Let the pro do his/her job. Just give your thoughts, but give them the power to create a masterpiece.

Final Thoughts

The best advice I can give anyone about marketing is… Keep learning. Marketing is always changing and always evolving. If you are not learning, you will lag behind.

What are your thoughts about these best marketing quotes? Which one is your favorite? Do you have any questions? If so, just post them below.

I have just one request… Click the social links below and share these quotes with your friends. Let’s get rid of Eli Wallach (the bad) and teach people when they dare use Lee Van Cleef (ugly)… But most of all… You want to be like Clint who said:

“You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.”

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21 thoughts on “The 15 Best Marketing Quotes Ever Spoken”

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” Peter Drucker

My Take: Once you know your customer and know how they think, you can create products and services that they want and need, and will buy! Before you ever create a product, make sure you know WHO you will sell it to.

“A marketing truism is that a small business that heavily emphasizes customer service is more likely to survive and succeed than competitors that emphasize lower price, convenience, speed of delivery, or product performance.” ~ Jay Conrad Levinson

My Take: Never try to compete on price. That is the fastest way to go bankrupt in your business. Instead, treat the customer like gold and do what you say you will do.

My Take: Don’t worry if you fail in business the first time around. We all have a million dollar idea buried within us. We simply need to keep pressing forward, learn from our mistakes and have an open mind.

My Take: Most entrepreneurs spend a large majority of their productive time focusing on the wrong tasks. Don’t confuse working in your business with working on your business. As an entrepreneur, your greatest responsibility is to grow and market your business. Those two activities will produce the greatest return on your investment. Don’t EVER spend your productive time keeping the books, cleaning the office, organizing things or anything else that you could delegate to others (or do during non-productive time). Use your time wisely.

“It’s better to attempt something great and fail, than attempt to do nothing and succeed.” Dave Severn, Amway Diamond

My Take: I’ve always been a big fan of this quote. I first heard it on an old Amway tape, about ten years ago. To this day, it still has a huge impact on my business philosophy. Most people are scared to take risks. Most folks never accomplish much, because they don’t try anything. When you look back on your life, you will only regret the things you didn’t do, not the things that you did do. So, dare to be great. Don’t let fear control you. Take chances and follow your heart.

“Your ability to build lasting business relationships that allow you to close more deals, retain clients, increase your income, and advance your career to rise to the top of your company or industry, depends on your skills for getting other people to like you, trust you and BUY you.” – People Buy You, Jeb Blount

My Take: I couldn’t say it better myself. You have to be likeable. And you have to build trust and rapport with your prospect. If you have a product that will solve your prospect’s problem, and the prospect likes you, you will make the sale!

“Most of us go through life as failures, because we are waiting for the “time to be right” to start doing something worthwhile. Do not wait. The time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” – Napoleon Hill

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” ~ Charles Darwin

My Take: The smartest entrepreneurs understand that success is a series of zigzags. You must continuously change and adapt when things don’t go as planned. You don’t quit, you just follow a new path. After all, there’s hundreds of ways for you to reach your final destination!